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hwangoI wrote a choose-your-adventure type branching story this week, but I realize that might not be everyone's cup of tea. Which is to say, someone may hate them with a fiery passion.
As an alternative, I have placed here my personal favorite path, which you may read without having to worry about making decisions. Enjoy!
The sky grows dark and the wind turns cold. It’s time for all little children to be safe in their homes - but one is missing. Accusations are made. There is a great deal of shouting. Finally, the front door of the house bangs open and Amber stomps her way down her front steps. It seems that she has drawn the short straw, and has been sent to fetch her little sister, Willow, from whatever ridiculous predicament she’s gotten herself into this time. If the quest takes too long, her dinner will get cold. If it takes even longer than that, her plans for the evening with her friends will be in terrible jeopardy.
“Damn it,” Amber muttered to herself, “I’m going to kill her if she screws up tonight.”
A quick look around revealed that the gate at the edge of the yard was hanging open. Amber cursed extravagantly and at length. Well, at least that narrowed things down a little. Amber walked up to the gate and stuck her head through to look around. No one in sight.
“Willow!” she shouted, but there was no reply. Cursing the unfairness of the universe in general and of her parents specifically, Amber stepped through the gate. Now the question was, where to look first? The creepy old haunted ruins? The spooky forest that lay behind the wall of mist? Hell? Somewhere worse?
“Why can’t she just watch cartoons like a normal kid?” Amber grumbled.
Amber muttered something unkind about Willow and then stepped into the mist. She walked blindly through the cold and damp for what felt like several minutes before it finally dispersed, leaving her standing on a dirt road in a gloomy forest. She could hear wolves howling in the distance and the slow, rhythmic wooden tapping of carnivorous trees from very nearby indeed. She glared at the nearest trees for a while until the tapping stuttered self-consciously and then stopped. Then she set off down the road.
After a few minutes, Amber arrived at a fork in the road. To the left, the path led deeper into the thickening forest. Amber could barely hear music coming from somewhere further in that direction. To the right, the path led to a rickety wooden bridge over an apparently bottomless ravine. An enormous raven perched on a huge tree stump next to the bridge.
Amber had never liked birds, and the raven was absolutely enormous. She’d go back that way only as a last resort. Besides, music probably meant a party, and that would probably interest Willow more than some giant bird. Hopefully.
The music got louder the longer she followed the path, though the path itself seemed to be vanishing. Soon she found herself stumbling through the forest with only the music to guide her. Eventually, she reached its source.
She’d been expecting a clearing, but she was disappointed. Instead, she found what appeared to be a masquerade ball being held among the trees. The dancers did not seem to mind the uneven ground or the fact that they often needed to veer out of the pattern of steps to go around a tree or some shrubs.
Amber was unsurprised to see everyone wearing animal masks. She was nearly certain that behind the masks few if any of the dancers would have human faces. Some of them probably didn’t have faces at all.
Suddenly, someone wearing a terrifying bird mask stepped up to her and extended his hand in a wordless request that she join him in the dance.
Freaking birds! Amber screamed and punched the man in the face. She caught a glimpse of furry ears as the mask was dislodged a bit before the man could comport himself and hurry away, hand pressed against his nose under the mask. The music disintegrated into jumbled noise and then stopped completely, and everyone froze. They all stared at her. Across the crowd, one figure shook as if awakening from a trance. He started to make his way towards her as the music slowly resumed and the dancers turned away from her and returned to the dance.
Amber watched as the lone figure ignored the music and continued to walk towards her. She was a little apprehensive, but figured anyone declining to return to the party might actually be useful to her in some way.
Eventually, he managed to dodge his way past the last of the dancers and walk up to her. He removed his mask to reveal an ordinary human face.
“Thank you, young miss,” the man said, though Amber raised an eyebrow at his choice of words considering he didn’t seem that much older than she was. “It was providence indeed that you happened by and disrupted the dance so that I was able to escape. Oh, I curse the day that I ever found myself trapped in this awful place!”
“Are you pulling my leg?” Amber said.
“I beg your pardon?” said the man.
“Are you just being melodramatic? Or, wait – you’ve been stuck here? Is this your first time here?”
“It isn’t yours? Wait, you escaped and came back?!” the man said, aghast.
“My sister comes here all the time, and sometimes I have to come get her,” Amber said.
“She comes to this nightmare willingly?!” he said, clearly horrified.
“Dude, this isn’t a nightmare, this is just weird. I’m in high school. My nightmares suck way more than this,” Amber said.
The man appeared to be having difficulty processing this statement.
“Listen rookie, I’m glad I could help, but I don’t really have time for this. I’m looking for my sister. Did you happen to see a girl a few years younger than me in there anywhere?”
“Alas, I am unable to recall much from when I was entranced. Although…I think I do remember someone leaving. It may have been a child?” the man said.
“Which way did she go?” asked Amber.
“Um…possibly that way?” the man said, hesitantly, pointing back the way Amber had come from.
“Ugh, I knew it would be the stupid raven,” Amber said. The man looked like he was about to ask a question about this, but Amber cut him off. “Okay, thanks for the help, good luck, and try not to get trapped in any creepy inhuman masquerades. See you around.”
She hurried back the way she’d come, finding the path again without any great difficulty. The stupid magic evil forest would have to do better than that if it wanted to catch her.
After a while, she made it back to the part of the road that led to the bridge. Sure enough, the monstrous raven was still perched on a stump next to it. It was staring at her.
“Fine,” Amber said. “Shouldn’t there be a troll where you’re sitting?” Amber asked the raven. The raven spread its wings and cawed, then coughed a bit before settling back down.
“I ate him,” said the raven in a raspy voice.
“I see,” said Amber. “And have you taken over his job collecting tolls?”
“What am I going to do with money? I just eat people who want to cross the bridge,” said the raven. Amber considered this in silence for a moment.
“And have you eaten any little girls today? Say, a couple of years younger than me?”
“Was she a troll?” asked the raven. Amber was forced to admit that she was not. “Then no. Today only trolls.”
“Will you let me pass?” Amber asked the raven. It cocked its head to one side and studied her for a moment. Then it shook its head vigorously.
“I eat people who want to cross the bridge,” the raven said.
“But didn’t you already eat someone today? Are you even still hungry?” Amber asked.
“It’s the principle of the thing,” answered the raven. “I can’t be the monstrous raven who only eats some of the people who want to cross the bridge. That’s silly.”
“Look, I’m not really into all of this storybook crap. I just want to cross your stupid bridge, see if my sister is on the other side, and then get her home before dinner is cold and my friends leave for the movie without me. So just clear off and there won’t be any trouble.”
“But I –” the raven started to object.
“No! Okay, you want storybook crap? I’m on an epic quest to rescue my sister from horrible monsters. What happens to you in that story, Mr. Giant Raven Who Eats People?”
“Well, I –” the raven started to say.
“YOU ARE STILL IN MY WAY,” Amber shouted.
“Why are you always so mean?” a voice from the ravine said.
“Willow, get up and here and let’s get going,” Amber said.
A small child climbed up over the edge of the abyss.
“Sorry my sister is such a jerk, Mr. Raven,” Willow said to the giant bird.
“It’s hard to believe that you’re related,” said the raven. “And I keep telling you, my name is Theodolphus.”
“Now, Willow,” Amber said impatiently.
“Bye, Mr. Raven!” Willow called and she ran past Amber down the road.
The raven gave an exasperated shake of its head, and Amber shrugged in reply. Then she set off down the road after her sister before she could get into any more trouble.
As an alternative, I have placed here my personal favorite path, which you may read without having to worry about making decisions. Enjoy!
The sky grows dark and the wind turns cold. It’s time for all little children to be safe in their homes - but one is missing. Accusations are made. There is a great deal of shouting. Finally, the front door of the house bangs open and Amber stomps her way down her front steps. It seems that she has drawn the short straw, and has been sent to fetch her little sister, Willow, from whatever ridiculous predicament she’s gotten herself into this time. If the quest takes too long, her dinner will get cold. If it takes even longer than that, her plans for the evening with her friends will be in terrible jeopardy.
“Damn it,” Amber muttered to herself, “I’m going to kill her if she screws up tonight.”
A quick look around revealed that the gate at the edge of the yard was hanging open. Amber cursed extravagantly and at length. Well, at least that narrowed things down a little. Amber walked up to the gate and stuck her head through to look around. No one in sight.
“Willow!” she shouted, but there was no reply. Cursing the unfairness of the universe in general and of her parents specifically, Amber stepped through the gate. Now the question was, where to look first? The creepy old haunted ruins? The spooky forest that lay behind the wall of mist? Hell? Somewhere worse?
“Why can’t she just watch cartoons like a normal kid?” Amber grumbled.
Amber muttered something unkind about Willow and then stepped into the mist. She walked blindly through the cold and damp for what felt like several minutes before it finally dispersed, leaving her standing on a dirt road in a gloomy forest. She could hear wolves howling in the distance and the slow, rhythmic wooden tapping of carnivorous trees from very nearby indeed. She glared at the nearest trees for a while until the tapping stuttered self-consciously and then stopped. Then she set off down the road.
After a few minutes, Amber arrived at a fork in the road. To the left, the path led deeper into the thickening forest. Amber could barely hear music coming from somewhere further in that direction. To the right, the path led to a rickety wooden bridge over an apparently bottomless ravine. An enormous raven perched on a huge tree stump next to the bridge.
Amber had never liked birds, and the raven was absolutely enormous. She’d go back that way only as a last resort. Besides, music probably meant a party, and that would probably interest Willow more than some giant bird. Hopefully.
The music got louder the longer she followed the path, though the path itself seemed to be vanishing. Soon she found herself stumbling through the forest with only the music to guide her. Eventually, she reached its source.
She’d been expecting a clearing, but she was disappointed. Instead, she found what appeared to be a masquerade ball being held among the trees. The dancers did not seem to mind the uneven ground or the fact that they often needed to veer out of the pattern of steps to go around a tree or some shrubs.
Amber was unsurprised to see everyone wearing animal masks. She was nearly certain that behind the masks few if any of the dancers would have human faces. Some of them probably didn’t have faces at all.
Suddenly, someone wearing a terrifying bird mask stepped up to her and extended his hand in a wordless request that she join him in the dance.
Freaking birds! Amber screamed and punched the man in the face. She caught a glimpse of furry ears as the mask was dislodged a bit before the man could comport himself and hurry away, hand pressed against his nose under the mask. The music disintegrated into jumbled noise and then stopped completely, and everyone froze. They all stared at her. Across the crowd, one figure shook as if awakening from a trance. He started to make his way towards her as the music slowly resumed and the dancers turned away from her and returned to the dance.
Amber watched as the lone figure ignored the music and continued to walk towards her. She was a little apprehensive, but figured anyone declining to return to the party might actually be useful to her in some way.
Eventually, he managed to dodge his way past the last of the dancers and walk up to her. He removed his mask to reveal an ordinary human face.
“Thank you, young miss,” the man said, though Amber raised an eyebrow at his choice of words considering he didn’t seem that much older than she was. “It was providence indeed that you happened by and disrupted the dance so that I was able to escape. Oh, I curse the day that I ever found myself trapped in this awful place!”
“Are you pulling my leg?” Amber said.
“I beg your pardon?” said the man.
“Are you just being melodramatic? Or, wait – you’ve been stuck here? Is this your first time here?”
“It isn’t yours? Wait, you escaped and came back?!” the man said, aghast.
“My sister comes here all the time, and sometimes I have to come get her,” Amber said.
“She comes to this nightmare willingly?!” he said, clearly horrified.
“Dude, this isn’t a nightmare, this is just weird. I’m in high school. My nightmares suck way more than this,” Amber said.
The man appeared to be having difficulty processing this statement.
“Listen rookie, I’m glad I could help, but I don’t really have time for this. I’m looking for my sister. Did you happen to see a girl a few years younger than me in there anywhere?”
“Alas, I am unable to recall much from when I was entranced. Although…I think I do remember someone leaving. It may have been a child?” the man said.
“Which way did she go?” asked Amber.
“Um…possibly that way?” the man said, hesitantly, pointing back the way Amber had come from.
“Ugh, I knew it would be the stupid raven,” Amber said. The man looked like he was about to ask a question about this, but Amber cut him off. “Okay, thanks for the help, good luck, and try not to get trapped in any creepy inhuman masquerades. See you around.”
She hurried back the way she’d come, finding the path again without any great difficulty. The stupid magic evil forest would have to do better than that if it wanted to catch her.
After a while, she made it back to the part of the road that led to the bridge. Sure enough, the monstrous raven was still perched on a stump next to it. It was staring at her.
“Fine,” Amber said. “Shouldn’t there be a troll where you’re sitting?” Amber asked the raven. The raven spread its wings and cawed, then coughed a bit before settling back down.
“I ate him,” said the raven in a raspy voice.
“I see,” said Amber. “And have you taken over his job collecting tolls?”
“What am I going to do with money? I just eat people who want to cross the bridge,” said the raven. Amber considered this in silence for a moment.
“And have you eaten any little girls today? Say, a couple of years younger than me?”
“Was she a troll?” asked the raven. Amber was forced to admit that she was not. “Then no. Today only trolls.”
“Will you let me pass?” Amber asked the raven. It cocked its head to one side and studied her for a moment. Then it shook its head vigorously.
“I eat people who want to cross the bridge,” the raven said.
“But didn’t you already eat someone today? Are you even still hungry?” Amber asked.
“It’s the principle of the thing,” answered the raven. “I can’t be the monstrous raven who only eats some of the people who want to cross the bridge. That’s silly.”
“Look, I’m not really into all of this storybook crap. I just want to cross your stupid bridge, see if my sister is on the other side, and then get her home before dinner is cold and my friends leave for the movie without me. So just clear off and there won’t be any trouble.”
“But I –” the raven started to object.
“No! Okay, you want storybook crap? I’m on an epic quest to rescue my sister from horrible monsters. What happens to you in that story, Mr. Giant Raven Who Eats People?”
“Well, I –” the raven started to say.
“YOU ARE STILL IN MY WAY,” Amber shouted.
“Why are you always so mean?” a voice from the ravine said.
“Willow, get up and here and let’s get going,” Amber said.
A small child climbed up over the edge of the abyss.
“Sorry my sister is such a jerk, Mr. Raven,” Willow said to the giant bird.
“It’s hard to believe that you’re related,” said the raven. “And I keep telling you, my name is Theodolphus.”
“Now, Willow,” Amber said impatiently.
“Bye, Mr. Raven!” Willow called and she ran past Amber down the road.
The raven gave an exasperated shake of its head, and Amber shrugged in reply. Then she set off down the road after her sister before she could get into any more trouble.
